Sandcastles

My family looks for forward to our week at the beach each summer. We love to play in the ocean, collect shells, and especially dig in the sand. Wesley, Christopher and I were walking down the beach one night after supper and we got inspired as we saw that some other vacationers had built a whole fleet of “sand boats” complete with guns, flags and little people on them. The next morning we all started digging our own creations.

The secret to effective sandcastle building (at least for me) is having the right tools and starting at the right spot. The people who built the boats obvious had a real live adults-sized shovel because their sand creations were up on the berm and contained huge amounts of sand. Their work was not done with a small shovel and plastic bucket.

The boys and I started our castles near the water where the sand was a little wet and started digging down (with plastic sand scoopers) until we struck water (about 2 feet down). Then as the tide went out, we piled sand to make a large castle wall that dried out and became very strong. In about an hour we had a large castle that would stand tall and proud all day! What fun!

The problem with sandcastles though is that they don’t last. The tide eventually came back and washed our beautiful sandcastle away. All that work, all that digging, all that effort…gone. We were okay with it though. We expected that to happen because sandcastles are not supposed to last.

The scriptures say that there are a lot of things like sandcastles that consume a lot of our time but don’t stand the test of time. Eventually they are washed away or crumble or burn up or end up on the trash heap:  wealth, physical appearance, material things, empires, and governments all we come to an end and will not last. The question is why would we spend so much time building things that do not last?

As your pastor, I often think about my responsibility as your shepherd. I understand that I have an influence on the spiritual lives of thousands of people. One day, I’ll stand before God, and He’ll show me the effects of all of my efforts in the building of His church. I know that structures I’ve helped build won’t last. I am also sure that most of the words I’ve spoken in sermons, Bible studies, and Council meetings won’t last either. In reality, the only things truly lasting will be the people I affect for eternity: my family, friends, other brothers/sisters in Christ and those I introduce to Jesus.

That’s why I’m so excited about this next ministry year getting ready to start in the fall. The theme is going to be “All In” which is really just a rally cry for “Come on Covenant, let’s go deeper, higher, and farther than before.” We will be having several congregational events this year that will help build us into more intentional disciples of Jesus. These emphases will focus on our hearts but lead to our hands. It will truly be a year of putting our faith into practice. I’m excited about what God will be building in us because I know that HE will be building eternal things.

After all, why would we spend our time building things that will not last?